Host age preference and suitability of Cotesia plutellae Kurdj

Host age preference and suitability of Cotesia plutellae Kurdj

Shi ZuHua; Liu ShuSheng

Journal of Zhejiang Agricultural University 24(4): 381-386

1998

The preference of Cotesia plutellae for various instars of diamond back moth, Plutella xylostella, was studied at 25 degrees C in the laboratory. The results showed that C. plutellae parasitized all 4 instars of P. xylostella, but preferred 2nd- and 3rd-instars when exposed to 2nd-, 3rd- and 4th-instars at the same time (preference indexes were 0.37, 0.39 and 0.24, respectively).